A J M Shafiul Alam Bhuiyan, Professor of Television, Film, and Photography, Dhaka University:
The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) involving seven South and South East Asian countries has just concluded its 4th summit in Nepal. What can the emerging economies like Bangladesh gain from this multilateral arrangement?
In spite of its internal incoherence and tensions, the European Union (EU)stands out as the torch bearer of regional and sub-regional cooperation for economic and cultural exchange. Inspired by the EU, the ASEAN and the SAARC were formed by South East Asian and South Asian countries respectively. Compared to these multilateral formations,the BIMSTEC is a late-comer. Launched by Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh in 1997, the BIMSTECis a unique union of South Asian and South East Asian countries which brings together 21% of the world population and a GDP of $2.5 trillion.
Regional cooperatives are created to develop productive relationshipsamong neighboring countries by pulling collective resources together for economic development. Each member state joined the group with its own priorities and concerns to gain collective assistance to resolve them.Given the deadlock at the SAARC because of tensions between India and Pakistan, the BIMSTEC has the opportunity to become the leading regional forum. India, a key player in this group, is very keen to use it as an alternative to the SAARC.
Our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinain her speech at the summit outlined the immediate priorities of the BIMSTEC. She exhorted the member states for expanding and expediting the activities of the organization and flaggedthe issues of making a regional electricity grid, creating a free trade area and developing infrastructure for regional connectivity, combatting terrorism, and promoting tourism as priority areas for the organizations to dwell on. All the countries, including Bangladesh, desperately need electricity for continuing their movement toward industrialization. Bangladesh and India pursue bilateral arrangements with Nepal and Bhutan to get electricity for fulfilling their energy needs. Nepal and Bhutan are endowed with natural resources for producing hydroelectricity but they lack monetary resources to turn their potentials into reality. BIMSTEC’s collective endeavor to create a regional electricity grid would create a synergy to draw a multitude of funds to generate electricity to meet the regional demand for energy.
South Asia and South East Asia have been undergoing the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century –the Rohingya crisis. Myanmar’s military drove out and eliminated thousands of Rohingyas through what the United Nations called a systematic and planned method of intimidation, torture, and genocide. This crisis now torments Bangladesh and will eventually haunt India and other regional countries. Islamist radicalism which looms large over South and South East Asia can indoctrinate the homeless, desolate and desperate Rohingyas to become suicide bombers. The BIMSTEC can offer a space to resolve this issue through dialogues and negotiations for peace and stability in the region.
Creating free trade zones for economic cooperation was in vogue in the 1990s and it began with the signing up of the NAFTA (North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) among the US, Canada, and Mexico. Free trade zones eliminate barriers to the flows of goods and services and businesses. Big economies benefit the mostout of such arrangements as they usually have a big coffer of goods and services to offer. Small economies can benefit only if they can carve out a niche. Hope fully, Bangladesh has done their homework to assess what they can offer and gain out of the free trade arrangement.
The proposed connectivity project to facilitate free movements of goods and people through roads and waterways will connect South Asian countries with South East Asia through Myanmar. The democratization of Myanmar is a sine qua non to unleash the true potential of the BIMSTEC. Beside all other potentials, multilateral forums allow states to deal with bilateral issues on the sideline. Leaders can hold one-on-one parleys to dilute and dissolve thorny bilateral issues on the sideline of official summit level meetings. The BIMSTEC has been a laggard in creating an impact on the region but is full of potential to foster collaboration and peace between the peoples of the region. [The writer is the Founder and Professor of the Department of Television, Film, and Photography at the University of Dhaka and Executive Director of the Governance and Policy Research Foundation (GFRF), an independent think tank.]